Words and photos by Bill Foster
North Charleston’s (people here tend to be very emphatic that they are not Charleston proper) High Water Festival is back after a two-year hiatus, with some changes for the good and some for the worse.
The biggest change for the worse is the footprint. The main stage has been turned about 90 degrees, and both stages seem to be closer to the water. Add these details to a higher number of attendees, and the result is that the crowd has been drastically compressed compared to how it was in years past. The charm of High Water always was that it felt like a boutique festival; you were in the sun by the water, and there was always a relaxing place to sit, feel the breeze and hear the music. Yesterday, though, one was enveloped in a crowd the entire day with little to no respite. But on the positive side, the weather was perfect, and the opening day’s music was uniformly excellent.
Due to a very long, very broken train, I missed the wonderful Cedric Burnside and Aida Victoria while I was engaged in an impromptu tour of North Charleston and arrived mid-set for The Felice Brothers. The brothers, fronted by Ian and James, have been around for an astounding 17 records now, and they put on assured, professional shows.
Drew Holcomb and the Neighbors were next on the main Stono Stage. It’s easy to underestimate Holcomb. With his unassuming stage manner and sturdy voice, there is nothing super exciting going on. All he offers is great song after great song, superbly performed, from a career stretching back 17 years now. He and his band are in the studio now, and we were treated to a new track, which I would wager will be a major hit. A cover of Springsteen’s “I’m on Fire” also was a highlight. Back on the Edisto Stage, Delta Spirit played an energetic and exciting set. They have come a long way since playing the Knoxville’s World Grotto and Rhythm & Blooms, and they have quite a stage presence to go with Mathew Vasquez’s songs. Los Angeles’ Local Natives were next, and their percussion-heavy, groovy set was terrific.
I’d never heard Bahamas, and, honestly, one minute into the first song, when they sounded exactly as sleepy as I expected, I was ready to take a break. Instead, I kept listening and came away with a new favorite. Although there were five people onstage, the band is the project of Afie Jurvanen from Toronto, where he has won several Juno Awards (Canada’s Grammys). He is an outstanding guitar player, bluesy one moment and spiky or melodic the next.
Back on Stono, Modest Mouse hit the stage just as the sun was setting. Leader Isaac Brock was in rare form despite technical difficulties, storming around the stage, pounding his guitar and singing into the pickups. “The World at Large” and “F*** Your Acid Trip” were early highlights, and they closed with crowd pleasers “Dashboard” and “Float On.”
One thing I like to observe at festivals is who is waiting on the front row, to see who has the crowd enthusiasm to take the next step. From the hundreds of girls waiting since noon for the 8 o’clock set on the Edisto Stage, there is no doubt that Caamp is the up-and-comer from the opening day of the festival. It seemed like every person in the first five rows knew every word of every song. They are listed as a “folk” band, but the Ohio group comes across as much more indie live, sounding a lot like Dr. Dog.
Finally, the time had come for the main event. While the other groups all had an hour each, headliner My Morning Jacket played a two-hour, 18-song set that opened with a monstrous “Wordless Chorus” and ended with “Mahgeetah.” In between, “Touch Me I’m Going to Scream” (both parts), “Evil Urges” and “One Big Holiday” were highlights. Lead singer Jim James was all over the stage, and almost every song ended in a frantic jam, highlighting Jacket’s place as one of the best headliners around.
